Updated May 13, 2014, 10:57 am
On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca.
On May 13, 1914, Joe Louis, the American boxer who was world heavyweight champion for a record-setting 12 years, was born. Following his death on April 12, 1981, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
| 1607 | An English colony was settled at Jamestown in present-day Virginia. |
|---|---|
| 1842 | Composer Arthur Sullivan, who collaborated with William Gilbert in writing 14 comic operas, was born in London. |
| 1846 | The United States declared that a state of war existed against Mexico. |
| 1914 | Boxing champion Joe Louis was born in Lafayette, Ala. |
| 1917 | Three peasant children near Fatima, Portugal, reported seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary. |
| 1940 | Winston Churchill told the British House of Commons in his first speech as prime minister, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." |
| 1958 | Vice President Richard Nixon's limousine was battered by rocks thrown by anti-U.S. demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela. |
| 1985 | Philadelphia police dropped an explosive onto the headquarters of the radical group MOVE; 11 people died in the resulting fire. |
| 1992 | The Falun Gong movement had its beginning as the sect's founder, Li Hongzhi, began publicly lecturing on his spiritual philosophy in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun. |
| 2003 | The government unveiled a new version of the $20 bill - the first to be colorized in an effort to thwart counterfeiters. |
| 2011 | Two suicide bombers attacked paramilitary police recruits heading home after months of training in northwest Pakistan, killing 87 people in what the Pakistan Taliban called revenge for the U.S. slaying of Osama bin Laden. |
Historic Birthdays
Joe Louis
5/13/1914 - 4/12/1981
American boxer; world champion from 1937 to 1949.Go to obituary »
| 55 |
Henry William Stiegel 5/13/1729 - 1/10/1785 German-born American ironmaster and glassmaker |
|---|---|
| 67 |
William Petty-Fitzmaurice, 1st marquess of Lansdowne 5/13/1737 - 5/7/1805 British statesman and prime minister (July 1782 - April 1783) |
| 85 |
Pius IX 5/13/1792 - 2/7/1878 Italian pope (1846-78) |
| 58 |
Sir Arthur Sullivan 5/13/1842 - 11/22/1900 English composer; wrote operettas with W. S. Gilbert |
| 75 |
Sir Ronald Ross 5/13/1857 - 9/16/1932 British bacteriologist; won the Nobel prize in 1902 |
| 81 |
Georges Braque 5/13/1882 - 8/31/1963 French Cubist painter |
| 74 |
Charles Pahud de Mortanges 5/13/1896 - 4/7/1971 Dutch equestrian; won Olympic medals in 1924, 1928 and1932 |
| 81 |
Dame Daphne du Maurier 5/13/1907 - 4/19/1989 English novelist and playwright; wrote "Rebecca" |
| 75 |
Gil Evans 5/13/1912 - 3/20/1988 Canadian-born composer and arranger |
| 47 |
Jim Jones 5/13/1931 - 11/18/1978 American cult leader responsible for the Jonestown Massacre in 1978 |